Tasting Forrest Wines in Calgary

In July I caught up with Beth Forrest, the second generation winemaker at Forrest, a premium producer and one of the oldest wineries in Marlborough, New Zealand, at Blink in Calgary. Beth is a charming and direct woman who didn’t seem to have too much B.S. about her. She had come into town a few days beforehand to enjoy the Calgary Stampede, and was mixing a little work into her visit to Calgary.

I rarely turn down a winemaker dinner because I love to spend time with different winemakers, talking about their wines and tasting the foods paired with them. The dinner with Forrest at Blink was no exception.

The following wines are available in Alberta exclusively at the two Highlander Wines & Spirits locations.

Forrest 2010 The Doctors’ 9.5 Sauvignon Blanc (87 points, $23)

Our first course was a salad of golden and chiogga beets, with Fort Macleod goat cheese and red radish. It was paired with the Forrest 2010 The Doctors’ 9.5 Sauvignon Blanc.

A slightly odd ball sauvignon blanc, with 20 grams of residual sugar and 9.5% alcohol. The nose has notes of olive, capsicum, lime, slate and a hint of pickled ginger to accompany sweet melon tones. Quite mellow on the palate, the sugar lends some creamy texture, with tart apple, melon and herbal/grassy character peeking through the sweetness.

A great course, and I think it would be suitable with nearly any white wine with good acidity.

Forrest 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (88 points, $23)

Our second course was chilled tomato soup with side stripe prawns and an english pea spring roll. It was paired with the Forrest 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine was a little restrained, with almond, lemon juice, olive, ripe gooseberry and melon notes. Soft, but a little tight on the palate, with grassy tones and bitter gooseberry fruit. Citric and melon tones appear, but a slightly herbal finish with a pinch of residual sugar detracted from the freshness.

The gazpacho was delicious, but a little piquant and it sort of beat the hell out of the wine. I would eat that spring roll again in a heartbeat and it was a nice, if unusual, complement to the wine.

Forrest 2009 Pinot Noir (90 points, $33)

Our third course was crispy skinned confit of duck with ricotta gnocchi, rosemary and B.C. fire morel mushrooms. It was served with the Forrest 2009 Pinot Noir.

The stand out wine of the evening, this was a great example of quality New Zealand pinot noir that doesn’t try to knock you out. The beautiful nose had barnyard, vegetable stalk, mint, cherry, mocha, carrot cake and compost notes. The palate had tart cherry, bruised strawberry and spice notes, with crisp acids and layered complexity. Elegant, restrained, clean and delicious.

Duck and pinot noir is a great match, almost any way you cut it. Run — don’t walk — the next time Blink has this dish on the menu.

Forrest 2010 The Doctors’ Riesling (88 points, $23)

The dessert was lemon posset with new season strawberries, served with the Forrest 2010 The Doctors’ Riesling.

Like a cross between Niagara and Clare Valley rieslings, with fresh lime, slate minerality, mild honey tones, white blossom, petrol and limestone. It’s sweet, with lemon drop, minerality, apple and slight rock candy character on the palate. Easy drinking, but with a slightly short finish.

The dessert was a tough match — excellent on its own, but it left the Riesling reeling. Posset is much like a pudding (a recipe for it can be found here) and with the lemon, it was too rich for any wine can stand up to it. However, I would love to make it at home and see if it would stand up to a cava or something similar.

If I make it back to New Zealand, Forrest will definitely be a stop on my journey.

Cheers!